There's a Light
by Smileyfaceofevil
Summary: Overdone fic, I know. Esme and Carlisle adopt one/several kid/s . I just loved the plot, and had to do my own. Hopefully an original spin. Includes all main characters, Bella eventually, and all human. Full summary inside. Warning: T for a reason. NOT M!
1. There's a Light

Partial Summary:

Overdone fic, I know. Esme and Carlisle adopt one/several kid(s). I just loved the plot, and had to do my own. Hopefully an original spin. Includes all main characters (Bella eventually) and all human. Full summary inside.

Full summary:

When Esme and Carlisle's request to adopt is approved, they visit the orphanage, and immediately fall in love with Alice McCarty. Deciding to adopt her, they find the problem that she comes with a brother, Emmett. They agree to take on both children, but find out about Edward, the much older brother. When they hear of the children's dark past, will they still take them on? Or will they turn to the much easier alternative of a different child?

Okay, we all saw that one coming. They adopt the McCarty children, but Edward is far too ill to be moved. Sitting at his bedside one day, Esme hears fragments of a conversation through his dreams. She pesters him for the full story. Horrified by what she hears, she begins a battle to show the three kids, and their best friends (the Hale twins) that life is worth living.

EsmePOV

I smiled as I smoothed the wrinkles off the blue duvet. The ocean themed bedroom was very cute in my opinion, and I almost hoped for a boy so we could use it. Of course, the pink, princess themed bedroom across the hall was just as sweet. No, I wasn't expecting, I was adopting. Carlisle and I had been talking for months, and had finally decided that on the eight of may, we would visit the orphanage. That was today. We had booked an appointment, for an hour away.

We wanted a child aged between one and nine. We doubted a child any older would like the rooms we had decorated. I had started painting in early April, and the last of the furniture had arrived last week. I was so excited, but a little nervous as well. What if the child had a difficult past and hated me? What if I just wasn't cut out to be a mother? What if they hurt themselves? What if our adoption request got turned down last minute? What if I just couldn't connect with the child?

'Esme, honey?' Carlisle called from downstairs. 'We have to leave in twenty minutes; it's a half hour drive. Do you want any brunch before we go?'

'It's only eleven. No thanks.' I was panicking, and Carlisle could hear it in my voice.

'Come downstairs, sweetie.' Taking a deep breath, I descended to the ground level. Our house was rather small, it contained a kitchen, lounge, family room, dining room, four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, other rooms down.

As I reached the lounge Carlisle smiled, and we spent a minute simply staring into each others eyes, before Carlisle's phone rang. Carlisle worked at the local hospital from seven am till six pm, Mondays to Fridays. He was on call occasionally, but specialised more in scheduled operations then emergency surgery. I was an interior designer, and worked Tuesday to Friday, nine am to three pm. I figured these were good hours for parents, and I could always drop my job if we adopted a child to young for school. A shrill ringing sound cut me out of my thoughts.

'Hello? Carlisle Cullen speaking.' Carlisle answered his phone. There was a pause. 'No, I don't know a Martha. No. No. Maybe. No… Martha Bronson doesn't ring a bell… No. Yes, I think you have the wrong number.'

Carlisle sighed, and shook his head. 'Third wrong number this week. Anyway, speaking of phones, do you want to call anyone?'

The sound of his voice had calmed me, and I sat down, thinking. 'Yes,' I decided finally. 'My mom, Eileen, and my sister.'

He dialled a number quickly before handing me the phone.

'Hello?' A familiar voice said. 'This is Eileen Platt.'

'Hey, Mom. It's me, Esme.'

'Esme! Sweetheart, it's been weeks since you last called. Why now?'

'Today's the day!' I squealed. 'May the eighth.'

'Esme! Oh, congratulations. Honey, where are you?'

'At home. We're just about to leave. I'm going to call Sarah first.'

'Well, when you get home I want to hear all the details… and I expect photos by next week.'

'Yes, mom. Of course, mom.'

'Well, good luck.'

'Thanks. Talk to you later.'

'Bye.'

She hung up, and I phoned my sister Sarah.

'Sarah!'

'May-may!'

'Esme.' I corrected. I had outgrown that nickname years ago, but my younger sister insisted on addressing me as 'May –May.'

'Yeah, anyway, are you a parent yet?'

'No. I'm just going to leave in ten minutes, but I called mom, and I'm calling you now.'

'Good. Did you want a boy or a girl?'

'Either.'

'Both?'

I paused. 'Maybe twins, but I only want one child for now. I can always go back next year.'

'Right.' Sarah said. 'True.'

'I've got to go, Sarah, but say hi to John for me.'

'Will do. Hey, John doesn't know you're adopting.'

'You didn't tell your husband?'

'No. I'll tell him now. You say hi to Carlisle.'

'Okay. Well, see you next time I'm in New York.'

'Nah... if you have kids, I'll be the one visiting you.'

'I suppose.'

'Bye, Esme. Good luck.'

'Thanks. Goodbye.'

And that was that. After fidgeting for a while I turned to Carlisle. 'When can we go?'

'Five minutes, love.'

'We should go now.'

'We'll be fifteen minutes early, Esme.'

'Carparks. Maps. Getting lost. Carlisle-'

'Okay, okay. Do you want to drive?'

'No, I'm too nervous.'

'I'll drive.'

'Captain obvious.' I muttered.

'You calm down, Esme.' He continued, apparently not hearing me.

'I can't!' I wailed in response.

The drive passed in silence. Carlisle was right, we were quite early. We parked opposite the address, and stared at it for a while. All I could see was an unsealed drive and a rather dingy cottage.

'Honey, are you sure this is the address?' I asked.

'Yes. It was the address Emma sent us.' Emma was the young woman who was helping us to adopt a child. She was our saviour. The system was just so confusing.

'Okay then. Let's go look.'

'I feel rather nervous myself.' Carlisle admitted.

We climbed out of the car, and were greeted by the unmistakable sound of children screaming. I smiled anxiously. As we crossed the road, I spotted a sign.

**Phillip Clive Adoption, Foster and Child Welfare Centre. RECEPTION******

This was it. Carlisle took my hand and we followed the direction the sign pointed, past the front door, to the right and down a little path. A small one room building stood there. I knocked. Then I looked up at Carlisle who was smiling at me.

'Hello?' A middle aged woman poked her head out of the door. 'Ah, Mr and Mrs Cullen?'

'Yes.' We answered together.

'Do follow me.'

She led us into a small building, which had a divider down the middle. On one side was a desk and two chairs, and the other simply had a circle of chairs. We were in the desk-less room. A young man was sitting on one of the chairs with a clipboard, flipping through paperwork.

'My name is Antonia,' the woman introduced herself. 'And this is Harold Parker; he grew up here since he was four.'

I blinked. 'Um, my name is Esme. This is my husband, Carlisle…'

'Esme.' She said. 'Carlisle. Well, I have to go see to the children's lunches. Amy, our cook, always forgets something. Harold will look after you.'

Harold smiled at us, and explained the children's timetable. He said that if we didn't find anyone here, that was okay. We could always foster, go somewhere else, or come back later. He finished by explaining that today, Saturday, was their play day. 'But they have lunch at twelve, so you have about half an hour. Then come back here, and we'll talk. Then you can go out for another hour. We'll see what happens.'

I smiled.

'Would you like a tour?' Harold asked.

'No thanks.' Carlisle said. 'Unless you want one, Esme.'

'No. But could we have a map, and a list of the kids' names?'

'Sure. There a sixteen kids here at the moment.' He handed me the clipboard.

The list said:

------

Eliza Afern (9)

Arthur Bennet (6)

Millie Bennet (6)

Jasmine Claude (7)

Joshua Hampton (8)

Emily Hampton (5)

Andrea Isle (11)

Freya Jason (9)

Kyle Lambert (13)

Alice McCarty (3)

Emmett McCarty (7)

Thomas Prayer (5)

Emma Rose Raeburn (8)

Ferdinand Raeburn (4)

Briana West (4)

Annette Young (13)

Children On Foster Rotation

Anna Cyder (7)

Verity Everett (4)

Jasper Hale (7)

Rosalie Hale (7)

Alexander King (12)

Children Recently Adopted

Chelsea August/White (5)

------

Pinned in the corner of the clipboard was a map. Carlisle and I followed it back out the front of the cottage. We had come from the right of the front door, and to the left was a small lawn, perhaps the size of the average kitchen. Five children were playing what looked like a game of tag. All the girls were wearing yellow dresses, and the boys dark blue or grey suits. They looked so cute. As soon as they saw us, the children waved. One of the three girls came up to me, but the other kids held back.

'Hello.' She said. 'My name is Eliza Afern. I'm nine. I've been here for four years.'

'Hello Eliza.' I replied. She was very cute, tall for her age, but slender. She had long blonde hair, fair skin and big blue eyes. She was wearing a blue headband. 'Will you introduce me to your friends?'

'Yes, of course. The youngest girl with blonde hair, her name is Briana. The other girl, with dark hair, is Jasmine. She's seven. The boys are Thomas Prayer and Nigel. Nigel is Amy's son. Amy's our cook. Nigel's ten. He isn't up for adoption. What are your names, Miss?'

'Oh, I'm Mrs Cullen, and this is my husband, Mr Cullen. You can call me Esme, dear.'

'Thank you, Mrs Cullen. Thank you, Mr Cullen.'

From here on the lawn you could see a second building attached to the cottage. On the map it said: **Dining Room and Playroom. Hospital Wing upstairs.**

'Eliza, where are the rest of the children?'

'In the playroom, most likely. It was nice meeting you, Mrs Cullen.'

'Esme,' I corrected absently. 'It was good to meet you, too.'

Carlisle took my hand and we ambled over to the door to the second building. Two little children stopped us when we were a few metres away. The kids were holding hands. The girl fiddled with her vivid yellow dress. The boy sniffed and smeared something sticky on his glasses. 'My name is Arthur, Arthur Bennet. Who are you? Why are you here?'

'My name is Mrs Cullen, Arthur. Who is your friend?'

'I'm Millie Bennet.' The girl said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. 'Arthur is my twin brother.'

'You haven't told us why you're here.' Arthur complained loudly.

'I'm an adoptive parent. I'm looking for a child to adopt.'

The boy's attitude changed completely. 'I'm Arthur, ma'am. I'm six years old. Last year my parents abandoned me in a shopping mall carpark. They left me with Millie and our older brother, David. David got hit by a car and died. All I have left is Millie. Please help us. Be our new parents. Please.'

'You go play with Eliza and um Jasmine and Nigel and er, the others and Carlisle and I will discuss it.' I replied uncertainly. 'You too, Millie.'

When the kids had gone, I turned to Carlisle. 'Well, Millie was sweet, I liked her.'

Carlisle finished for me. 'But that Arthur was a terrible child, and as they probably come as a pair they are out of the question. I thought Eliza was nice, as was Briana and Thomas. I wasn't so sure about Jasmine. I think she tripped Nigel up.'

'I didn't see.' I said, surprised. Jasmine, from a first impression, didn't seem nasty. 'But I agree with you about Eliza. Nice girl. A little old though, perhaps. But if we don't find another child…'

'Let's go look. We only have fifteen minutes before the children's lunchtime.' He tugged me towards the small door, and into a hall.

We wandered past a barely furnished dining room where two children were setting the table. They were wearing the same clothes as the children we encountered outside, but with jumpers with their names sewn on them. One was Annette Young, and the other Kyle Lambert. According to our list, both kids were thirteen. As they were out of our age preference, we didn't stop to chat.

A door by the end of the hall showed a tiny room were two girls were reading. We went in. The younger girl bounded to her feet, and beamed at us. 'My name's Emma Rose, I'm eight. I can read chapter books! Look, this one is two hundred and seventeen pages long!'

'Wow, Emma. That's… wonderful.'

'Thank you…' She faltered, and stared at me anxiously.

'Esme.' I supplied.

'Esme. Thank you, but I'm not half as good as Andrea here. Her book is- how long is your book, Angie?'

'Four hundred and, um, twelve pages.'

'Four hundred and twelve pages!' Emma Rose repeated, smiling at Carlisle. 'Amazing!'

Emma had mousy brown hair, a freckled nose and cute grin. She was quite short for eight, and stocky. I looked at Andrea briefly. She was also stocky, but much taller. She looked more like a teenager then eleven. Her short, bitten nails had flaking purple nail polish, and her long hair was swept up in a ponytail. She put down '_Vengeance of the Fallen part 3' _and smiled sadly at me. 'I'm Andrea Natasha, but the younger kids call me Angie, and the staff call me Natasha.'

'Which do you prefer?' Carlisle asked.

'I like my real name better, Andrea.'

'Andrea it is.' I said. 'How long have you been here?' Her smile disappeared, and a thoughtful frown replaced it. She wasn't upset by my question, but I wished I hadn't asked.

'My mother died six years ago, and my father was sent to jail when I was six months old. He was caught stealing a crib for me. My older brother was adopted eight months ago, but we keep in touch. I might go live with him when he turns eighteen. I'll be allowed, it's in two years.'

'Well, Andrea, it was pleasant meeting you. You too, Emma Rose. Bye!' I said.

'Bub bye, Esme.' Emma Rose said. 'Bub bye Mr. Esme.'

I smirked at this and Carlisle laughed. 'Bye, Emma, goodbye Andrea.'

We left the miniscule bookroom, and walked to the playroom. A young girl tripped over and crashed into Carlisle as we entered. 'Oh, sorry!' she gasped, scrambling to her feet and raking her hand through her blonde hair. 'I'm Phillipa Jason, nine years old.' She pulled at the sleeve of her pale yellow dress.

'Phillipa?' I asked, confused as I flicked through the list of names. 'Jason, you say?'

'Oh.' The girl said, looking at my clipboard. 'I'll be down as Freya, but my middle name is nicer. I think so, anyway. Joshua likes Freya more.'

We smiled at her, and scanned the rest of the room. A burly child was playing with a slimmer boy. A few other children sat around the playroom. The girl noticed us looking. 'That's Joshua there,' she whispered. 'Not the strong one, the older boy with reddy brown hair.'

I grinned at Carlisle. 'Who are the kids playing the board game?' I queried.

'Oh, Ferdy and Emily. Joshua's sister and Ferdinand, who arrived as a baby three and a half years ago. You might have met Emma Rose. Ferdy's her brother.'

'Ah.'

'Now, thank you, but if you don't mind I'm going to go play monopoly with Emily and Ferdy. Bye!'

'Bye Phillipa.' I said.

Just then a little girl toddled across the room, squealing with delight. She fell onto her bottom on the carpet about a metre in front of us, and stared at us with wide eyes. I couldn't believe she hadn't been adopted yet, she was adorable!

'Hello, my name ith Awice.' She said, lisping slightly. 'Who you?'

'I'm Esme,' I said, leaning over and picking her up. 'This is Carlisle.'

'Carwhile.' She said stretching out from me and patting his nose. 'Me Awice.'

'Hello, Alice.' Carlisle said. He and I exchanged a glance that seemed to say it all.

'Alice Cullen has a nice ring to it,' I whispered leaning towards my husband.

'Mmm.' He replied.

Suddenly, the boy who had been playing with Joshua walked over. 'Are you taking my baby sister away?' He asked sadly. 'Please don't.'

I froze, and, handing Alice to Carlisle, scanned the list on the clipboard. Sure enough, right under Alice McCarty (3) was Emmett McCarty (7).

'Um,' Carlisle said to Emmett. 'We wouldn't separate siblings…'

'Then why have you got Alice?' Emmett said, looking a little confused. I looked at Carlisle, and our glance seemed to say it all. We have two bedrooms. Emmett is seven, young enough to be in our age range…

'Well, dear. We can adopt more then one child.' Carlisle said.

'Oh!' Emmett exclaimed, his eyes widening. 'Wow.'

'Would-would you like- would you like to-' The sentence got caught in my throat. 'Emmett, would you like to come with us?'

He sighed wistfully. 'Yes, I would… but I can't, I couldn't.'

'Why not?' I asked, confused.

'My brother,' he said simply. 'I couldn't leave him.'

000

_Author's Note._

_Did you like the first chapter? By the way, Esme and Carlisle are twenty seven; Edward is fifteen, Emmett seven and Alice three. Rosalie and Jasper are seven._

_Lots of dialogue, I know. I'll try and cut down on that in future chapters._

_Review if you liked!_


	2. Burning Bright

_Author's note, Thanks for the reviews. If you're wondering why I didn't reply, read my profile. Sorry, but thanks, anyway. By the way, this story is set in 2009. _

'Your brother?' I asked in surprise. There were no more McCarty children on the list.

'Yes,' Emmett said. 'My brother.'

'How old is he?' Carlisle asked.

'Fifteen last month.'

'Okay;' I said. 'What's his name, Emmett?'

'Edward. Edward McCarty.'

'Right. Where is he?' Carlisle said, shifting Alice to his other hip.

'Upstairs, In the-'

Whatever Emmett was about to say was cut off by a woman in her mid thirties poking her head out the door. She waved a wooden spoon around madly, and called something out to the two kids setting the table behind her. Then she turned back to us. 'Lunch is ready. Ferdy, Emily that means now. Freya, you can pack up the board game later. Joshua, be a dear and go get Nigel and Eliza and the rest; Emmett, stop bothering the nice people. Come get your lunch, and Alice, darling, do you want milk or water?'

Carlisle placed Alice on the carpet, and she toddled off toward the woman, who I assumed was Amy the cook. Alice kept yelling 'milk' and waving her arms in the air. She looked very cute. Emmett smiled at us uneasily.

'Thanks awfully… Mr and Mrs…'

'Cullen.'

'Cullen. I've got to go to lunch now, and I have to get a seat by Alice so she doesn't throw the potato at Phillipa again. Anyway, thank you.'

I grinned, and assuring him that there was no need for thanks, turned to Carlisle.

'What are we going to do?'

'It'll work out, Essie.' He hadn't called me Essie since the time he nearly lost his job because of staff downsizing. I frowned, because it meant he was obviously upset.

'Hey, you two.' Amy called. 'You might want to go see Antonia an' Harold in the office, because seeing this bunch eat will put you off kids for life.'

I smiled at her, and Carlisle and I left. We passed Eliza and her friends rushing towards the building, and we waved. When we reached the office, Antonia was waiting for us. 'Well,' she said, beaming in a slightly forced way. 'Did you find any children you'd like to look at the files of?'

'We would like to discuss a few of the children, yes.' Carlisle said carefully. 'In particular, the McCarty kids, Emmett and Alice.' He paused, 'and Edward.'

Antonia sighed. 'Yes, the McCarty kids are so sweet. They've had a rough hand dealt to them, though. Their father died when they were little, shortly before Alice was born, and the hit was hard. When Alice was a month old, Ms McCarty remarried, William Hyde, more for financial then personal reasons. He was not the nice man he appeared to be. He took drugs, smoked –both cigarettes and crack- and was constantly drunk. When Alice was six months old, her mother started to smoke. Edward, who was at that point twelve, was forced to take care of Alice and Emmett. By the time Alice was one; both her parents were alcoholics who smoked. Mr. Hyde took drugs as well.

'About six months ago Emmett started missing school; his mother always said he was sick. Edward began to skip school too, and a young teacher, Miss Melbourne, came to investigate. She found the cigarettes, but as smoking isn't a crime, and Ms McCarty wouldn't let her inside, she couldn't prove that anything was going on. She reported everything to the school principal though, Mr. Kensington.

'Five months ago, on a school day, Mr Kensington paid a visit to the McCarty house. Ms McCarty and Mr Hyde were out, but he found a spare key in lone flowerpot by the front door, and he let himself in. He found cigarette packets, and what was later tested to be drugs, in the lounge and kitchen. The bathroom was an unspeakable mess, and the downstairs bedroom bed was not made up, though it was midday.

'He went upstairs, and found a playroom. It was empty and gathering dust. The upstairs bathroom didn't seem to have been used in a while, and there was no towels, no toilet paper, nothing.

'At this point in time, the two boys hadn't been at school in three weeks. Anyway, worried, Mr. Kensington found that in the upstairs cupboard there was a door, and it was locked. The key he had let himself in with opened the door, and when he went in…'

'What?' I asked, taking a seat in the ring of chairs in the office, 'What did he see?'

'Emmett was sitting on the floor with a small chapter book, and Edward was changing the Alice's nappy. She only came out of nappies two months ago, so at that point she still used them. That's not the point though. The bedroom had two single beds pushed to either wall, a tiny slat window way up high, a cot and a chest of drawers.

'Edward seemed really surprised to see Mr. Kensington. He was fourteen, and had moved off the little kids' campus that year. He attended High School at the adjoined school. Emmett had just turned seven… he didn't even look up when George Kensington entered.

'Mr Kensington asked how long they had been in that room. Edward said it was their bedroom, but that over the past couple of months Mr. Hyde had begun to lock the door. He only let them out once a day to use the loo get Alice a couple more nappies.

'He asked how often they got fed, it was the same. One meal a day. As they filed back in the room from the bathroom break, they got handed a bag with a sandwich and a cookie in it, and a drink of water. Each time they left the room they handed the bag back in.

'The kids were so skinny! A sandwich a day is not enough for kids to grow on. Mr Kensington was horrified, but he couldn't do much other then leave, lock the door again and phone the police.

'Two months on from that, the police and an ambulance were seen leaving the house. It turned out Alice and Emmett got nightmares- they all did, I think, but Alice screamed the loudest. One day she fell asleep, about four o'clock, pm. Alice screamed, and William Hyde got so annoyed. He was drunk- and angry. He marched upstairs and lunged for Alice.

'He probably would have killed her, so Edward dived in the way. He got three shattered ribs, and two other broken ones. His arm snapped and a leg bone shattered. The sheer force of William- so horrible,' Antonia paused and wiped her eye. I realised I was blinking back tears myself.

'He ended up in hospital,' Antonia whispered. 'Four weeks of lying there, and all he talked about was his siblings, asking if they were okay.'

'Which hospital?' Carlisle asked, his face gaunt.

'Not yours, I think, Dr. Cullen. A small, community run medical centre. Ellen Humphreys Community Hospital.'

'How did you know I was a doctor?' Carlisle said, frowning slightly.

'I did some research, looked through your file. I have to, you know- It's my job to make sure the kids go to a good home.' She sounded a little defensive.

'Of course,' Carlisle smiled. 'Now, back to the subject at hand. What of the children? Where is Edward?'

'Edward's upstairs, above the playroom, in the hospital wing. He's recovering very well, but the doctors said it would be at lest another fortnight before he was back on his feet. He's been in bed for three months now, two months here and one in hospital. All the clean brakes healed a while ago, but they had to do surgery for all the shattered bones. They're all healing well, apparently, but another two weeks.'

Carlisle looked at me, and I bit my lip. 'Antonia…'

'Yes, Mrs Cullen?'

'Esme.'

'Esme.' She repeated.

'Antonia… are the McCarty kids available for adoption?'

Antonia blinked. 'Yes, they are…'

'Could we… could we look into adopting them?'

'Yes, but Esme, I must warn you. Emmett and Edward will be scarred for life, and who knows how Alice will turn out? Edward won't be entirely independent of prosthetic aid for four months at least, hell; he won't be out of bed for two weeks. The children are behind on schooling, and medical care will be quite expensive.'

I looked pleadingly at Carlisle. He nodded, and spoke. 'Antonia, at this point we don't care what it will cost, or what sacrifices we have to make. That's part of becoming, of being, a parent, right?'

'Yes…'

'So when we say we want to adopt these kids, we mean we want to adopt these kids.'

I smiled and patted Carlisle's hand. We waited for Antonia's response. 'Very well, I'll leave you to look at the kids' files. First you foster the child for a one month trial, and then it's possible to adopt.'

'Antonia?'

'Yes?'

'Is anyone else looking to adopt the McCarty siblings?'

She pursed her lips. 'No. Well, there was one couple. Mr and Mrs-' She broke off. 'Sorry, that's confidential. Anyway, we thought… They did half the one month trial, but they just weren't right, you know? They struggled, Alice was so little, and Emmett needed constant attention, and they couldn't forget Edward, who was still in hospital.'

'So it didn't work out?' I said, both hope and dread bubbling inside me. Hope, there was no one else interested in adopting the McCarty children. Dread, others had failed before me.

'No,' Antonia whispered. 'It didn't work out.' She sniffed, and smiled at Carlisle and I. 'Well, now. Browse through the files, and ask Harold here if you need anything.' She stood and left. I heard excited chattering outside the door, and Antonia shushing the children.

Harold gave us three files before returning to the desk he had been working at. I picked up Emmett's file, and began to read. It contained a more factual and less personal version of the story Antonia had told us, medical history, school records, a character reference and parenting tips for adoptive parents. The file didn't contain much that I was interested in, so after about fifteen minutes I put it down. Carlisle was tutting over the medical section of Edward's file, so I turned to Harold.

'Harold?'

'Yes, Esme?'

'Why are all the girls in yellow dresses, and all the boys in blue suits?'

'Dunno, Miss. Bad uniform choice, I guess. It was the uniform when I came here, nineteen years ago.'

'Are you an only child? Did you come here alone?'

'With me sister, Bethany.'

'My sister,' I corrected softly.

'My sister, Bethany, she was two an' a half years my elder. Well, we were fostered a lot, and when I was eight and her nearly eleven, we got adopted. Ms Kentucky, and her fiancé, Bruce. Well, they got married. When I was twelve I got a brother, Joseph. Mom, my adoptive Mom, died last year.'

'I'm sorry.' I whispered.

'No, it's Joseph you should feel sorry for, he's only eleven. Bethany's married with a daughter, Ellen, and my girlfriend's four sisters dragged her off for a trip to France, but she'll be back next week, and then I'll go home to Mercer Island. I just come here when I'm lonely. I help with the little kids. They need it, someone who doesn't just sympathise, but understands.'

I smiled. 'Yes, I imagine that is helpful.' I paused anxiously as I stood up. 'Harold?'

'Yeah?'

'Did… was your adoption successful? Did you connect with your parents? Or… or…'

He grinned at me. 'Esme, I'm sure things will be just fine. My adoption worked out well, I'd already moved out when Annie, Mom, died. The worst point was probably when Joseph was born, and everyone was very conscious of not playing favourites.'

'No worries of that with me.' I said bitterly.

Carlisle took my hand, and I jumped, having not noticed him coming up behind me.

'Well,' Harold said. 'I assume you want to visit Edward?'

'Yes,' Carlisle said immediately, 'Poor kid.'

Harold nodded, and walked to the door. 'Follow me.'

We walked back to the room where the children were eating lunch, but we passed them, through the playroom to a little half hidden door. It opened onto a spiralling wooden staircase, and we trooped up the stairs.

Up the stairs was a second door, Harold opened it and we all stepped through. The room was small, but not cramped. One window was open, and the curtains billowed aimlessly. The walls were wooden, and the floor covered in threadbare rugs. Three beds were visible, and the one furthest away had a white curtain on a frame around it. Harold strode over to it, and pulled the curtain back to reveal the form of a sleeping boy.

I gasped.

_Author's note. Please review. I'm lacking reviews… but thanks to those who did! Thanks very much. _:)

_Smileyfaceofevil_


	3. In the Darkness

_Author's note, Thanks for the reviews. I know this chapter is short, and late…_

EsmePOV

The boys face had a healing scar on his cheek, and several more on his upper arms and shoulders. Harold heard me gasp and turned to face me.

'This is what he looks like months later. Imagine what he looked like then.'

I shuddered, envisioning the pain that the boy -only twelve years younger then me- had suffered. Carlisle pulled me closer to him. 'Essie, are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' I whispered.

Harold put his hand on the Edward's shoulder and gently shook him awake. Edward stirred and groaned.

'Edward…' Harold said, still shaking him gently. 'Edward, you have visitors.'

He slowly opened his eyes, and Harold helped him to sit up. One arm was bandaged from the elbow down, and though he was a tee-shirt, you could see the strapping underneath. He noticed me staring.

'Yeah, some of my ribs haven't healed yet, and even though the cast was taken off my arm _ages _ago, Dr Knight still insists it's bandaged. She's so pushy. The broken arm is healed, though, and the ribs should be healed soon.'

'I used to work with Dr Knight.' Carlisle said. 'Jane. We interned at UWMC together.'

'Oh.' Edward said. 'So you're a doctor.'

'Yes, that's my profession,' Carlisle murmured, stepping closer to the bed Edward was lying on, and pulling me with him. 'But my wife, Esme, and I were actually here to adopt a child.'

Edward frowned, looking a little confused. 'So why did Harold take you up here?'

I blinked. 'Edward, we met your baby sister, and younger brother, and well…'

'To be honest,' Carlisle said. 'Esme and I fell in love with them, and we'd like to adopt Alice and Emmett.'

I waited for Edward to become upset that Carlisle hadn't mentioned him. I waited for him to refuse to let his siblings leave his sight. I waited for him to throw a temper tantrum. He didn't do anything of he sort, instead, his face lit up with pure joy.

'Yes!' he said. 'You must take Emmie and Alice, you must.'

'What?' I asked, a little bewildered. This was not what I'd been expecting. 'Why?'

'Jolyn and Patrick, they fostered Emmie and Elsie -Elsie is what I call Alice- but it didn't work out. You seem a lot nicer… though I shouldn't be judging from a two second conversation.' He was silent for a few seconds, like her was having trouble saying more then a couple of sentences.. 'Sorry, it's still hard for me to say a lot in one go. Since…'

'It's okay, Edward.' I said quietly, sliding out of Carlisle's grasp and taking Edward's hand. 'Just say what you want to.'

'You must look after them, you have to.'

I frowned. 'Edward, why do you speak like you won't be around?'

'Did Antonia tell you the extent of my injuries?' He questioned. I nodded. 'Right, did she tell you about the clots?'

'No…' I whispered. 'Carlisle, was it in the file?'

'Not that I saw.'

'Doesn't surprise me.' Edward muttered. 'It'll be in there somewhere, legal requirements, but Antonia will have hidden it away.' He didn't say anything more, but looked as if he'd like to.

'Why?' I pressed, determined to understand this complicated case.

'Her younger sister, Georgia, died of a punctured lung. It was healing fine, but then clotted. When Antonia found out that one of my ribs that shattered punctured the lung she freaked.' He broke off coughing. 'Anyway, normally a punctured lung would heal fine, but there's still a fragment of bone in their, and doctors are having trouble with clotting… I don't fully understand it, they don't tell me much. I'm just surprised they let me out of hospital at all. I won't be allowed to walk for at least a month, but Antonia keeps saying two weeks. Well, I can walk to the bathroom and stuff, but that's it.'

'Edward…' Carlisle sounded sympathetic. 'My cousin had a punctured lung once, it didn't clot thought. She was still so upset… I can't imagine how you feel.'

Edward smiled sadly. 'It's vital you take in Alice and Emmett, or they'll become bitter.'

'Why?'

'Their father is dead, their mother and step father in prison, and their older brother unable to walk. They need a loving home. Besides, it'll help them when I die.'

'What do you mean, die?' I said, my voice shrill.

'The clotting blood… I don't have much of a chance of survival. I mean, I'll be like this, healing, until the blood clots. Then…'

Carlisle patted his arm. 'You'll be okay, Edward. Surgical procedures can be used.'

Edward smiled sadly again. 'Who would pay for one? I'll write Emmie and Elsie letters… they'll understand eventually.'

With that he collapsed back on the pillows, clearly exhausted, and drifted into sleep.

I patted his arm gently, and Carlisle and I hurried towards the door. I paused as we were about to leave, and turned. Harold was drawing the curtains around the boy's bed.

'Goodbye, Edward.' I whispered, before following Carlisle down the staircase.

--

When we reached Antonia's office, she stood there, waiting for us. 'Esme? Carlisle?'

'Yes.' Carlisle said tightly, his voice pained.

'As you know, Emmett and Alice are up for adoption… do you want to discuss details inside?'

'Sure,' I bit my lip as I talked, resulting in a rather strange sounding voice. Antonia and Harold ushered us inside. Harold then left muttering something about checking on the kids. Antonia walked to the side of the room with the desk, and gestured at the two chairs in front of it. We sat.

'Look, you know how it works. You foster the children for a one month basis, and then you either send them back or adopt them. Don't get us wrong, we're thrilled you're willing to take_ all _the McCarty children, but we need to talk about Edward later. Anyway, we have to do all the background checks, police checks, house checks, character references… the soonest the children will be with you is two weeks. If you're absolutely sure you want the McCarty siblings, you have to sign these papers now,' Antonia waved a manicured hand over a small stack of paperwork. 'We'll contact you later. Fill out the contact details and such.'

Carlisle nodded, and I pulled out a pen from my handbag. We filled out a couple of forms saying that we were interested in fostering/adopting Alice, Emmett and Edward McCarty. We gave our phone numbers and good hours to contact us, and then the visit was over. We met Harold as we walked down the path. He was chatting on about his girlfriend calling from Belgium.

As we walked out the gate, we saw a minivan pull up, and a handsome young man help two kids out. The kids were blonde, and looked about seven or eight. The girl was very pretty, and the boy was cute too. The boy was wearing a blue suit, and the girl the regulation yellow dress. They looked a little upset, and disappointed.

'Oh dear.' Harold whispered.

'What?' Carlisle asked.

'The hale twins- Jasper and Rosie. It looks like their latest foster didn't work out.' He sighed. 'Never mind.' As he reached out and took one of the twins' hands, he waved at us. Then he tugged the two young children towards the house.

'Poor kids.' I said, holding Carlisle's hand.

'Yeah.' He was holding the keys.

'Why thank you,' I smiled, taking the keys. The shocked expression on his face was adorable.

'Esme… you always let me drive.'

'Not today,' I smirked, unlocking the car and sliding into the drivers' seat.

_If you think someone's OOC, please tell me. If you have medical training, please help with the whole details of Edward's injuries. Google is currently my only reference._


	4. Of Everybody's Life

**Sorry for the long delay in updates.**

**I know in Eclipse it said Carlisle's mum died giving birth to him, but this is a AH fic set in the twenty first century, and it is way less likely for woman to die giving birth these days, so she's still alive. **

EsmePOV

I flicked on the light and heard Carlisle lock the door behind us. I couldn't believe it was only two o'clock; it felt like this day had gone on a lot longer. As I headed towards the kitchen I tripped over something small. I looked down to see my ancient tabby cat, George. I had adopted George when I was about fifteen. His previous owners had moved homes and left him behind. He was already four years old at that point, so at sixteen George was now a pretty old cat in cat years.

'Hey, fluffbum.' I said reaching down and ruffling his fur. 'I'm amazed you're awake.'

He meowed in reply, and jumped up on the kitchen bench. 'Oi!' Carlisle said as he came into the kitchen. 'You aren't allowed on the table, cat.'

'It's a bench, Carlisle, and you know you love the cat really.' I said, smiling at him. 'Anyway, George is far too lazy to jump up onto the bench unless something's wrong. What's wrong, little cat?'

Carlisle rolled his eyes, but smiled softly as I patted the cat. 'His bowl is empty, Esme.'

'Right. You fill the food dish, I'm going to have a nap… today really wore me out.'

'Yeah. Do you want me to cook?'

'What do you plan on cooking?'

'Lasagne. Salad. Did you want anything in particular?'

'Nah, lasagne and salad will be fine,' I yawned. Then I trooped up the stairs and collapsed fully dressed on my bed.

Carlisle POV

I pottered around the house and finally decided to my mother in England. I checked the time. Quarter past two. It'd be about nine o'clock in England, and my mother generally would still be up around this time. My father, an Anglican priest, had passed away when I was twenty.

I picked up the kitchen phone and dialled my mother's home number. It went to voicemail. 'Hi! This is Angeline Cullen, and you have reached voicemail. I'm probably out, so try my cellphone. If it's April though to July, I'll probably be at the beach house.'

It was May the eighth, so I called her beach house's number. She picked up after three rings. 'Hello? Ms. Cullen speaking.'

'Hey, Mum.'

'Carlisle!' she shrieked. 'It's been so long! When will you and Esme next visit me, darling? It must have been six months since you last called. Two years since the last visit.'

'You could visit us, Mum.'

'I'm sixty two.'

'That's not very old.'

After a small argument, and exchanging more pleasantries, my mum finally asked a question relating to today.

'So, sweetheart, what have you been up to? I just got home from my friend Stella's and hour ago.'

'Esme and I have been at the 'Phillip Clive Adoption, Foster and Child Welfare Centre'' I said.

'And what were you doing there?' Mum asked. 'Was one of the kids injured?'

'No, well, yes… but I wasn't there on work related business.' I took a deep breath. 'A few months ago, Esme and I decided to adopt a child.'

'Oh, Carlisle.' She whispered. 'Have you chosen a child? Tell me about them! I'm going to be a grandmother, Carlisle. Oh, I'm so excited!'

'Calm down, mum. We found a really beautiful little girl. She's three years old. She has huge blue eyes and a short black hair. She lisps. She's so tiny. Even for a toddler.'

'So cute! What's her name, Carlisle?'

'Alice. Alice Mary Cullen.'

'Alice. Alice Cullen.' My mother's voice was soft, and sounded ever so happy.

'Well, she's a McCarty right now, but she'll be a Cullen soon.'

'A little girl. I always wanted a girl.'

'I feel so wanted, thanks. But Mum, there's a catch.'

'What? Is she ill? Already adopted? Has a mental illness? A family?'

'A family.' I said, choking on the words.

'So you can't adopt her?' The tone sounded worried.

'We can. But she has two older brothers, and we have to take them too.'

'How old are they?'

'One's seven. He's a very nice boy, kind, caring. Watches out for his sister. We won't mind him at all.'

'Is the other brother a right scumbag, though?'

'No! No, he's lovely. Loves his siblings. Uncommonly nice for a teenager. But that's the thing, Mum, he's already fifteen.'

'Well, think of it this way, my darling, three years and he'll be out of the house, the younger boy will be ten and Alice six.'

'Yeah. The little boy is Emmett McCarty and the older on Edward.'

'They sound like sweet kids to me, Carlisle. I'm not sure why you sound so upset.'

'I'm being silly, aren't I?' I whispered.

'Yes, you are. Edward, Emmett and Alice… my grandchildren.'

'Yes.'

'Well, I might just end up visiting you after all.'

I smiled, and, after saying goodbye, wandered into the kitchen. After checking that I had all the ingredients I needed to make dinner, I slipped into my bedroom. Esme was sprawled out on her side of the bed, fast asleep. I lay down on my side, and stared at the roof, contemplating life.

I awoke to Esme gently shaking me. 'Carlisle, my love, it's five thirty, and if you want to make dinner you have to get up.'

Yawning I nodded. 'Sure thing, doll.'

'Doll?'

'Pssh, it's hardly the worst of my pet names. I think Essie-poo-pie and Sweetie-poo are a lot worse.'

'True.' Esme smiled. 'I'm going to go have a shower now, _Darling-poo. _And I hope you make a damn good dinner, because I'm starved.'

She pecked my cheek, and then vanished from my range of vision. Yawning again, and stretching, I got up. Straightening my crumpled clothes, I stumbled downstairs to the kitchen and attempted to make lasagne. Ten minutes into the preparation, Esme joined me in the kitchen, her hair still wet. She watched me for a few moments, before taking a few steps away from the door.

'Carlisle,' she said gently. 'How about you make the salad and I make the lasagne.'

Not wanting to admit defeat, I struggled in vain to create the perfect lasagne. My cooking expertise were average at the best of times, and when I was bleary eyed and tired, my cooking was like that of a pre-schoolers. Utterly terrible.

Esme giggled as she watched me nearly slice my thumb of with a rather sharp knife. Damnit, why was I even holding a knife? 'Okay,' I sighed. 'I'll make the salad.'

She laughed. 'I knew you'd give in.'

After a rather lame comeback, we cracked increasingly stupid jokes. We spent the evening doing this, until my entire repertoire consisted of knock knock jokes, and jokes like: one day there was a blue flower, and the next day… it was like, red.

**Please review. **

**Smileyfaceofevil**


	5. Overcome the Crawling Fear

**A/N Emma is an OC mentioned in chapter one. She is a very minor character, and the person who helps guide them through the adoption system. She is talked about in this chapter, so if you were wondering who she was…**

**I know I'm being vague on locations. Just imagine any old town/city. I'm not American, so don't know anything about American places.**

EsmePOV

Three days later, I was sitting on one of the sofas in the lounge when the phone rang. I looked up from my book, and met Carlisle's gaze.

'Who would be calling at one o'clock?' I asked, sounding a little confused.

'You don't think…' Carlisle said, shifting anxiously. It was his day off this week, so he was at home. He always got the weekends off, and once a month an extra day.

'It's probably just another wrong number.' I muttered. 'Someone asking for Martha Bronson again or something.'

'Yeah,' Carlisle agreed. 'Probably.'

The phone continued to ring. Carlisle moved away from the bookcase, and then rushed over to it. I chewed on my lip as I waited for him to come back from the kitchen with the phone.

A few seconds later, Carlisle strode back into the room. He held the phone away from him for a moment. 'It's the Phillip Clive Adoption Centre, Esme.' He whispered. 'They're coming round for a home inspection.'

'When?' I asked, my heartbeat picking up. This was it. One step closer to adopting children.

'Tomorrow, Thursday.'

'Oh,' I said nervously.

Carlisle went back to his conversation. I put the novel I was holding on the coffee table. I was unable to concentrate. When he had hung up the phone and joined me on the sofa, Carlisle looked the happiest I had seen him in weeks.

'Do you want to call Emma?' I asked. Emma hadn't contacted us in a few days, and I was still really confused about the adoption system. When did we actually adopt the children?

'That _was _Emma. She will be coming on Thursday, along with Mr. Parker, who is a social worker, and Ms. Jones, the actual inspector.

'That's a lot of people.' I whispered nervously.

'It's only three,' he said. 'Besides, this house is _spotless._'

I played with my hair, 'But what if they don't think this house is appropriate for raising three children? I mean, it's not very big, and the backyard is only thirty meters by twenty, I mean…'

'Esme?'

'Yes?'

'Shut up. You're making me nervous.'

'Hey! Don't you speak to me like that, young man.' I said.

'See? You'll make a great mother.'

'Oh, shut up.'

'Hey! Don't you speak to me like that, young lady.' Carlisle was clearly trying not to laugh.

'See? You'll make a great father.'

'Oh, shut up.' He said, repeating me.

'Hey-'

'No, Esme, I meant it.'

I giggled, and he cracked up laughing. After I regained my composure, I sat up. 'Right, let's get this house spotless.'

000

Children's home.

Emmett POV

'I can't believe you're going to be adopted!' Phillipa squealed.

'We don't know yet, Phillipa, they might send us back like the other couple did.'

'Don't think so, Em, I think you're lucky. I slammed into the man when he walked through the door, and he didn't even frown at me. I think they're a very nice couple.'

'Yeah,' Eliza Afern agreed. 'Mr and Mrs Cullen seemed really kind, you're very lucky, Em.'

Just then, Antonia poked her head through the door. 'Emmett, sweetheart, your brother's awake if you want to go see him, dear.'

Phillipa and Eliza stared at me for a moment, Eliza looked sympathetic, but Phillipa was just curious.

'Yes, Antonia.' I mumbled. She grabbed my wrist and gently towed me over to the wooden staircase.

'Come down at one thirty.' She said.

'When's that?'

'Half an hour, no, twenty five minutes. Off you go, Emmett.'

After climbing the stairs, I hesitated in the doorway, it wasn't that I didn't like seeing my brother; it was just that it hurt to see him like this; it brought back a whole lot of unpleasant memories.

He was sitting up slightly awkwardly in his bed, the curtains that hung around it were pulled back. He smiled at me as I entered, and it only accentuated the scar on his cheek even more. I smiled timidly back, fighting to keep my mind off how he got that scar. The screaming... the blood, the snapping noise… the crunch.

I felt slightly dizzy, and knew I'd be going pale, so I focused on walking forwards.

'Hey, Edward.' I said, grimacing rather then smiling. He didn't seem to notice, he didn't really seem to notice much at all these days. He looked as though he was focusing on not being sick just as much as I was.

'Emmett.' He replied eventually, finally acknowledging my presence. He didn't say anything more, but I knew that was because he was having trouble speaking. He smiled gently again, and patted the bed beside him. I climbed up. My feet dangled over the edge.

'How was… your day, Emmett.'

I pretended he hadn't paused in the middle of his sentence, he was always so embarrassed about it. 'It was okay. I bet Phillipa at monopoly, chess and scrabble. But I came last in Ludo. She and Eliza both bet me at that, and Alice, _Alice_, bet me at noughts and crosses.'

Edward laughed, but it sounded like the action came with a lot of pain. I shuddered. 'Emmett,' he said. 'Alice bet you! At noughts and crosses.'

'Yes,' I mumbled sulkily. 'But I bet her at chess as well as Phillipa.'

'I didn't know you could even play chess.' Edward snickered.

'I can't,' I said, grinning. 'But Phillipa can't either, and Alice just knocked the pieces over. Annette Young, she can play chess, she killed herself laughing when she watched our game.'

Edward smiled, and I grinned back, swinging my legs of the side of the bed. Suddenly, I lost my balance and fell backwards, slamming into Edward's chest. He hissed in pain.

'Oh my God!' I said, horrified. His fingers were digging into the sheets. 'Edward, are you okay?'

He was concentrating on breathing in and out, so he didn't answer.

'Edward? Edward?' I was panicking, he looked like he was in agony. 'I'm so sorry!'

'Not your fault.' He choked out.

'Do you want painkillers?' It wasn't like I had any, but it was all I could think of to say.

'Please,' he gasped.

'I'll go get someone.' I said, leaping off the bed. I raced down the stairs.

000

Antonia POV

'Phillipa, if you're finished with the board games, you must pack them up.' I scolded, waving around the Ludo instruction manual. The playroom was a mess. I heard the sound of someone hurtling down the stairs, so I spun round.

It was Emmett. It was only quarter past one, so he'd only been up their ten minutes. 'Emmett…? What's wro-'

He cut me off before I could finish my sentence. 'It's Edward. Hurry!' He looked frightened, so, dropping the Ludo manual, I rushed upstairs, Emmett hot on my heels. Edward was sitting up in bed, gasping for breath. He was staring straight ahead. His fingers were clenching the sheets so tight I though they'd drop off. He began to shake.

He turned his head slightly when he heard me enter. 'Please,' he whimpered.

'Oh, God.' I whispered. Emmett was hovering by the door. 'Emmett!' I yelled.

'Yes?' he said, looking rather sick as he watched his brother convulse.

'Emmett, call an ambulance.' I was panicking majorly, and seeing this seemed to scare Emmett even more.

'You sure?' He asked.

'Yes.' I said. 'NOW!'

He nodded, scuttling off.

Carlisle POV

'Do we have to clean the house up?' I moaned, glaring at the feather duster I'd been handed.

Esme laughed for a second, before, as she saw me attempt to sidle out of the room, stopping and glaring at me. 'Yes.'

'What time is it?' I asked.

'You have a watch, now stop delaying and start dusting.' Esme said, 'I'll vacuum.'

I checked my watch. It was half past one. I sighed, and waved the feather duster around aimlessly before walking over to the bookshelf. Just then the phone rang.

'Again?' Esme said. 'I never knew we were so popular.'

I smiled. 'It's my cellphone.'

EsmePOV

He answered the phone, and his face paled. He asked a couple of questions. Then hung up. 'Sorry, Esme, but this is an emergency. The onsite surgeon fell down the stairs, Mrs Clerk, so I have to go in. They've got an emergency case; the ambulance is pulling in now. I've got to go. Apparently the patient is unconscious, poor kid.'

'Kid?'

'Yeah, apparently only fifteen. Anyway, I've got to go.'

'Okay, I think I left the car keys on the bench.'

He nodded, before leaning in and kissing my cheek. Then his phone rang again. He rolled his eyes and picked it up.

'Yes?' He said. There was a long pause as he listened, and his face drained. 'Oh my God…' His hand flew to his mouth, he looked horrified. 'I'm on my way to the hospital now… yes, I'll take Esme.'

'What is it?' I blurted out the second he hung up.

'It's the boy… the kid in the ambulance… he's Edward.'

**Yeah, so that's chapter five. Please review. Pretty please. –sniffs-**


	6. Life's Too Short To Cry Over

**Second part of the chapter is better then the first, I promise. To clear up some confusion, the people at Carlisle's work don't know he's adopting a child/children. :)**

After the two phone calls, we rushed to the hospital. The ambulance had arrived fifteen minutes ahead of us, and the ambulance crew were preparing Edward for emergency surgery. He was unconscious, and I had barely caught a glimpse of him as he was rushed past me on a stretcher and transferred to a trolley. Carlisle had disappeared to get changed into his scrubs, and had left me sitting in a waiting room.

Twenty minutes later I was anxiously pacing the small area, and a few people were watching me with concern.

'Are you alright, Ma'am?' A young man asked me. He had brown hair and looked vaguely familiar.

'Mmm.'

'My name is Robert, my fiancée works here, with your husband. She's Doctor Elizabeth Craig.'

'Oh.' I mumbled. 'Hello, Robert.'

'So, why are you here? I'm here because my nephew, Willie, tripped down the stairs when I was babysitting him. He was just treated two minutes ago. Anyway, my sister, Claudia, will be really angry.' He continued to talk about his sister and nephew, but I tuned out. I was worried sick about Edward, even if he wasn't actually my son yet.

'Mrs Cullen?' Robert said. 'Mrs Cullen?'

'Yes? I'm sorry. I was away with the fairies.'

'Carlisle said you worked as an interior decorator… why aren't you at work?'

'The team I work with, six other woman, are all away. Three are on maternity leave, one visiting her sick daughter in law who lives in Brisbane, Australia, one has the flu and the youngest team member, Amanda, is on her honeymoon. I'm off work for the next six weeks.'

'Oh.' Robert said, then grinned as a small boy, perhaps five years old, ran up to him.

'Uncle Robbie! Uncle Robbie!'

'What is it, Will?' he said, before looking at me apologetically and mouthing 'he's four.'

'Look! I made a train!' William shouted, holding up a Lego… _thing_.

'That's great, Willie, but would you mind being a little quieter?'

'Sorry, Uncle Robbie.' The boy hung his head for a second, before jumping up and down again. 'Who is this, Uncle?'

'This is, uh, Doctor Cullen's wife-'

'Esme.' I interrupted. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, William.'

The four year old boy stared up at me in wonder. 'Good Afternoon, Esme.'

Robert smiled, and ruffled the boy's hair. He waited a moment for Willie to run back to the play area. 'You're good with kids, Esme. Do you have any of your own?'

I was silent for a moment, and by the look on Robert's face he could tell he'd struck a nerve. 'Look, Esme, I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, I…'

'It's okay,' I whispered softly. 'Three years back I miscarried a baby boy. I haven't been able to get pregnant since.'

'Oh…'

'But I'm adopting!' I said, remarkably cheerful again. I couldn't help it. The idea of Alice and Emmett and Edward being_ my_ children was just too wonderful. 'A little girl and two boys.'

Robert grinned; relieved I hadn't gone all mopey on him. 'What are their names?' he asked.

'Alice, she's three, and her older brothers, Emmett and Edward.'

'Lovely.' He said. 'I've got to go now, it quarter to two and William's got a hand-eye coordination class halfway across the city. I was waiting for Lizzy, ah, here she is now.' He turned away from me and waved at a young doctor I had often seen at the doctor's conventions I had attended with Carlisle. 'Elizabeth, my dear!' Robert yelled.

The woman swept her brown hair up into a ponytail as she approached. 'Hello, darling, who's this? No, wait… Ms Plait, wait, Mrs Cullen now, right?'

'Yes, have been for four years. You must be Elizabeth. I'm Esme.'

'Hi.'

'Well, I won't keep you. I hear you have to take William to…'

'His coordination class, yeah. See you around, Esme.' She said, smiling. Then she rushed over to grab William.

'Well, bye Robert.'

'Goodbye, Esme. You have a real gift with children, you know that.'

I smiled then. A real gift with children. I would need it.

000

Carlisle POV

After leaving Esme hanging around in a less crowded waiting room I dashed into my office. I changed into my scrubs and sprinted off towards a small reception area in the west wing off the hospital.

'Dr Cullen,' Ms Stanley said, in a rather nasal voice. 'Pleasure to see you here.'

'Thanks,' I mumbled. 'Have-'

'My eldest daughter turned fifteen last week, Jessica, she's very pretty.' Ms Stanley cut me off.

'Wonderful, but-'

'And last month my son turned twelve.'

'That's brilliant, Ms Stanley,' I said patiently. 'But do you-'

'His name is Michael. I have four children, you know.'

'I didn't know, but I urgently-'

'My other daughters are Jill, she's eight, and Daisy.'

'That's very nice, Ms Stanley, but I need to-'

'Daisy is four. She turned four three months ago.'

'Lovely, but-'

'Jill turned eight, about eight months ago, actually, so she'll be nine in September, I think.'

'Look, that's great and all, but I really need to know where patient…' I racked my brains. 'One five six seven is.'

'One five six seven, one five six seven.' She muttered, typing the numbers into her computer. 'Ah, got it. Edward Anthony McCarty. You know, I was going to call Michael Anthony. Anthony Michael Stanley. Then I decided Michael James Stanley sounded nicer. You know, Jessica is dating a boy called Mike, and her brother is called Mike!'

'Look!' I said, loosing my cool. 'Just tell me where patient one five six seven is.'

'Jeez, matter of life and death is it?' She said sarcastically.

'Yes,' I spat. 'Actually, it is.'

'Operating Theatre Twelve. I never got why it's number twelve, they only have four operating theatres, the two in the east wing are being renovated…'

I didn't catch the rest of her rambling speech because I had taken off for Operating Theatre Twelve. I pulled on rubber gloves from one of the medical trolleys being wheeled around by a male nurse. Then I dashed into the operating theatre.

'You're late, Doctor Cullen,' one of the nastier interns noted. 'Doctor Everett had to start the procedure.'

Ignoring the boy, I rushed over to the unconscious form of my future son. 'How's he doing?'

'Responding well,' Doctor Everett whispered as he gestured for a watching intern to pass him a scalpel. . 'Poor kid, his brother's freaking out, actually. Little seven year old who slammed into this boy's chest. The little one's terrified he's killed this one.

'Anyway, we've been stabilising his condition, but now you're here, we can start the surgery.' Doctor Everett started to peel back the blood soaked bandages to reveal Edward's torso. With so much blood it was hard to tell were the skin was penetrated.

Waving away the girl who was bringing him a scalpel, he pointed at the boy, perhaps nineteen, who had made the comment on my punctuality. 'Joseph, get me a cloth.'

The boy looked like he was about to be sick as he stared unthinkingly at the pool of blood. Doctor Everett sighed. 'Jane, dear, please get me a cloth. Anna, Joshua, escort Joseph out. If he's all right, leave him in the hall. If he isn't, take him to Doctor Ainslie Parker, and if he's sick call cleanup and leave him.'

The eight interns watching us nodded, and those assigned tasks hurried to do them. The interns ranged from eighteen to twenty five. Two were scholarship students, Anna and Jane, the rest had all finished university degrees and achieved places. Except for Joseph Parker, the boy being escorted out. He was the son of Doctor Ainslie, a woman close to retirement, and had been home schooled until he was thirteen. According to close sources he had been a bully, and only his parents' influence on the board of directors had got him a place as an intern.

Jane passed me a cloth and I started gently wiping the blood away. The gash was quite small, but deep. It looked like there had been a healing cut there before, which was why the skin had torn so easily. I looked up at Doctor Everett. 'Is he…'

'He's out. On general anaesthetic.'

'Good. Now…'

000

EsmePOV

At around two o'clock, a young woman, maybe nineteen, entered the waiting room and spoke rapidly to the receptionist. The receptionist, a teenage boy, looked up. 'Mrs Cullen? Mrs Esme Cullen.'

'That's me.' I said, standing up from my chair. 'I'm Esme.'

'Lily here, sorry, Miss Friend, says you're to come to hallway eleven. It's right by Operating Theatre Twelve.' Lily Friend leaned in and whispered something to the receptionist. 'Oh,' he said, flushing. 'Lily will take you. Apparently there's a little boy there. I think you might know him, according to Doctor Cullen. His name is Emmett.'

'Ah, yes.' I said, smiling. 'I know Emmett.'

'Good,' the boy said, relieved. 'Lily- Miss Friend will take you there.'

Lily walked in front of me, making small talk. We turned left, right, left, left, left, right, until I lost track of the corners. I would have been totally lost without a guide. About five minutes later Lily stopped. 'This is the West Wing. Take the next left and you'll be out side OR twelve. There are some seats there, I'm sure you'll be able to make yourself comfortable.'

Lily smiled, before striding away. I grinned back, half a second too late, and then tiptoed down the corridor. Hospitals always unsettled me, and the two times I had been there had been low points in my life. Once, when I was six and suffering tonsillitis, and a second time shortly before the miscarriage of my son.

Both times the smell of disinfectant combined with the long, white corridors and alternating between deathly quiet and mechanicals hums had creeped me out, I had been absolutely terrified of going back to hospital after I was six. Even when I was eight and my younger sister broke her arm, I had insisted that my father take me to McDonalds and we wait there while my sister was in hospital.

Of course, I hadn't had much choice the second time, but still, to this day; hospitals gave me the heebie jeebies. Which made it rather ironic that I had married a doctor, who worked eight hour shifts at the hospital.

Breaking out of my reverie I glanced around me, uncertain of my whereabouts. Thankfully, a young man was walking confidently down the corridor. He was wearing scrubs and holding a clipboard. He glanced at me for a moment, before grinning.

'Hey, miss, I'm Joseph Parker. Who might you be?'

I sniffed. He looked a bit creepy, to be honest. 'I'm Mrs Cullen.'

'Mrs?' he said, looking a little thrown off. His breath smelt like vomit.

'Yes, Dr. Cullen's wife.'

'Oh, _right_. I'm an intern. Anyway, you look a bit lost…'

'I'm not lost.' I said crossly, 'I want to know where OR twelve is, though.'

The guy grinned again. 'Your lucky day, I'm headed that way. I'm intern eight.'

'Yes, I know. You're much talked of at medical meetings, according to my husband.'

'Highly praised.' He said, proudly. I didn't answer, there was no point. The second I saw a small sign declaring a room "OR 12" I said goodbye. Joseph grinned at me. 'See ya round, Ms Cullen.'

'Mrs.' I corrected automatically. '_Goodbye_, Joseph.'

He hurried into the OR, and left me standing awkwardly outside. I saw a small row of seats a few metres away, and gratefully sat down. After two minutes of staring at a poster about the importance of wearing masks during surgery, I was thoroughly bored. I began tapping my foot against the ground, but the noise echoed and I felt self conscious, though there was no one that I could see. The corridor branched off about four metres ahead of me, so someone could be watching though.

Confirming my suspicions, a little boy's head popped out from around the corner. I remembered that Lily and the boy on reception had said that I had been asked to go see Emmett, but I had totally forgotten, nor had I seen him until now. He stepped into the corridor I was sitting in, and I stood up to say hello.

'Emmett!' I said. 'Hello, sweetheart.' I frowned, taking a closer look at him. He looked as though he'd been crying- his eyes were puffy and red. 'Is something wrong, Em?'

He sniffed, and wiped his eyes. 'It's all my fault, Mrs Cullen.'

'Esme.' I reminded him gently as I walked towards him. I crouched down in front of him and took his wrist. 'Now, Em, you haven't done anything.'

'But I have!' he wailed. 'It's my fault Edward's here.'

'No, darling,' I whispered softly. 'It's your old step father's fault. You and Alice and Edward have never, _ever_ done anything to deserve this.'

He began to cry, and put his arms around my neck. I lifted him up and balanced him on my hip. It was a little awkward with such a big child, but I swayed a little and rocked him. 'It's alright, baby.' I whispered. 'Everything is gonna be fine.'

He cried harder into my shoulder, and I adjusted his position on my hip. 'It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay.'

**Ta da! Chapter six! I'm going away on holiday, so if I don't update in the next two days, this'll be the last update in a week or two. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, in case you're wondering how Emmett came to the hospital, this is his flashback.**

_Flashback_

The ambulance pulled up, and Antonia was flustered, yelling directions left right and centre. Most of the kids had lined up on the lawn, including Alice, but I was frozen by the phone. The ambulance crew rushed in, there were five of them, and a driver waiting in the car. Two males were carrying a stretcher, while two woman and a third man rushed on ahead. Antonia followed up behind, she pointed at the staircase, and followed the ambulance crew up it.

I stared at the wall. Time blurred, I could have been waiting ten hours, ten minutes, ten seconds, I wouldn't know. Finally the medics rushed down again. Two were carrying Edward down on the stretcher, whilst one of the women fussed over him. Edward was gasping, and his eyes rolling slightly.

I shuddered, two words repeating themselves in my mind, _your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault. _The third man opened doors for the group, and they rushed outside. Finally, the second woman came downstairs.

'Hey, honey.' She said, ruffling my hair. 'Do you know that boy?'

'He's my brother.' I choked out.

'Are you okay?' She said, concerned.

I willed my mouth to move, but it wouldn't. I couldn't speak, so I just stared pleadingly at the woman.

'I'm Katrina.' She said finally. 'I think maybe you should come back to the hospital with us.' She took my hand and led me to the ambulance, where my brother had passed out.

Everyone else was fussing around, but Katrina just sat me down. 'Ms…' she called out, poking her head out the back of the ambulance. 'Antonia? I'm taking the younger brother as well. I think he's gone into shock.'

Antonia didn't reply. Stared blankly at the ambulance door, avoiding looking at my older brother. A tear trickled down my cheek.

_Flashback Ends_

**Anyway, hope you like, please review. **

**Smileyfaceofevil**

**: )**

**You don't have to review the last chapter! You can review EVERY chapter. That'd make me one happy person. ****_*HINT HINT*_**


	7. Everything Will Improve

**Disclaimer: I in no way own copyright to the Twilight Series; I am not claiming to be Stephanie Meyer. Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and its sequels.**

To make the paragraphs longer, make the page size smaller. :) They look a lot longer on a word document... then I upload them here and they look so _short_. : (

**IMPORTANT NOTE: After re-reading several more adoption stories that I read before writing this fic, I realised that I have been subconsciously copying some of their minor plotlines and features. I promise you that it was entirely subconscious and unintentional, but if you are concerned that your story/part of you story has been replicated in **_**There's a Light **_**just tell me. **

**Rooms are mentioned in CHAPTER ONE if you want to go back and check. **

**ONE MORE THING: Do you think I'm making Emmett too old for seven? I didn't think so myself, I've known quite a few bright seven year olds, but I want your opinions. Please tell me in your reviews. **

**So… to start today's chapter…**

**Following on one day after last chapter:**

EsmePOV

Carlisle had stayed over at the hospital; at around four o'clock he'd ordered a cab for me. At the same time a young woman I didn't recognise took Emmett back to the children's home. Today was Thursday, around one p.m, and the team inspecting the house was due any minute. I was standing by the front door and shifting nervously from foot to foot. I was desperate for this inspection to be over, but also dreading the verdict. I was on the verge of having a breakdown when the doorbell rang.

I rushed to answer the door, and was greeted by three smiling people. Emma was standing closest to the door, and she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 'Emma,' I said, hoping the expression on my face was warm, inviting and including a smile. It probably wasn't.

'Good afternoon, Esme. This is Mr. Parker,' she said, beckoning forward the man in a brown pinstripe suit. 'This is Ms Jones, the inspector.' She stepped aside so I could see a slim black woman, perhaps forty, in a suit.

'Afternoon, Mrs Cullen,' she said. 'Are you nervous?'

'Yes.' My voice was shaking slightly, and she laughed. She was carrying a professional looking briefcase, and she opened it to reveal a clipboard. I was starting to really hate those things. 'Why…?'

'It's just got a checklist, dear, nothing to be afraid of. How about we do a tour, and then we can all sit down and ask questions.' I nodded, to intimidated to do much else. I walked down the hallway, while Mr Parker and Ms Jones whispered to each other.

I was about to walk past the entrance to the lounge when I realised that the probably needed to see it. 'This is the lounge.' I said slowly, feeling more then a little stupid. I pushed the door open slightly and blushed; I'd left a plate of biscuits out on the table. Luckily, none of the inspection team noticed.

'Clean,' Ms Jones said approvingly. 'Not too small, not to big. Breakable china on high shelves, nothing to trip on.' She walked over to the bookshelf. 'Good. Children's material on lower shelves, clear indicators of where adult reading starts. Most books that contain adult material or references on top shelves. Well done, Mrs Cullen, you've noticed a lot of things that many prospective parents don't.'

She smiled warmly and I stared at her in shock, I hadn't considered the arrangement of books at all. 'Thank you.' I stammered. She looked around the room, nodded once, and noted a few things down on the clipboard. I went back into the hall and led the group to the kitchen. She made a couple of comments, and we moved on to the next room. This continued until I led the team back to the steps near the front door.

'Upstairs we have two bathrooms and four bedrooms.' I said, slightly nervously. The three nodded, and I climbed the stairs. 'This is the master bedroom, which Carlisle and I share.'

'Carlisle is Mr Cullen, right?' Mr Parker, a social worker, asked.

'Yes,' I said, feeling my cheeks go crimson.

Ms Jones nodded absently and took down a couple of notes. 'That door leads to a walk in wardrobe, which leads to the en-suite.' I said, trying to be helpful.

We left that room, which left us with a landing, two rooms across a very short hallway, which also led to a bathroom, and at the end, the guest room.

'This is Alice's room,' I muttered as we entered a small princess themed room. I turned around to see Ms Jones's face lit up.

'I love it, my dear! You must have spent ages on it!'

'Well yes.' I said, blushing deeper, 'But…'

'It's so beautiful, Alice will love it. Now, onwards to Emmett's room.'

'It's just across the hall.' I said. 'Carlisle and I went with ocean themed because we weren't sure about the interests of boy children these days.' We all trooped across to Emmett's room, and Ms Jones gasped in delight.

'Mrs Cullen, it's wonderful, just as good as Alice's. Full marks.'

'Thank you,' I said, surprised. 'Do you think the jellyfish lava lamp is a hazard, though?'

'Not at all. Emmett should be responsible enough to look after it, and it high enough up so tiny little Alice can't reach it.'

'Good,' I gushed. 'Thank you, Ms Jones, you've been so, so kind.'

She checked the bathroom, and I hurriedly explained my concerns that the three children would have to share one bathroom. She looked at me in surprise.

'I don't she that being a problem until Alice is a teenager, and then Edward will be gone, possibly Emmett… no, unless boarding school… anyway, it shouldn't become an issue.'

After a few minutes chatting about the tour so far, we proceeded on to look at Edward's room. 'This was previously the guest room.' I explained, as the looked over the plain bed sheets and small amount of books. 'I'll do it up when I know Edward's tastes.'

We walked back to the lounge and began to talk. Ms Jones commented on how she liked my tastes in colours and patterns, but Mr Parker was more serious. 'Mrs Cullen, I've noticed a lack of games for the children. I thought perhaps they might be in the bedrooms, but nothing other then books and dolls.'

'Oh!' I said, surprised. 'We have a few children's board games in the family room, and we were going to buy Alice a dollshouse for Christmas, but…'

'It's alright,' Ms Jones said. 'Give the girl some time. I loved the house, my only concern was that Edward would have some trouble with the stairs, but seeing as he won't be moving around much, he'll be fine. Patient Transfer services can probably help you get him up there from hospital anyway, so congratulations, Mrs Cullen. Your background checks, home checks and adoption requests have all been approved. As soon as you arrange a date for signing paperwork, you are free to take the McCarty kids home.'

A huge grin plastered itself across my face. 'Oh my god! Thank you so much!'

EPOV

I lay on the hospital bed staring up at the ceiling counting cracks in the plasterwork. _One hundred and one… One hundred and two, one hundred and three… One hundred and four._

The door to my room was pushed open, and I glanced towards it.

'Dr Cullen.'

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair, and came a few steps closer to my bed. 'Please, Edward, call me Carlisle.'

'Carlisle.' I repeated.

'Look, I know you feel sick, but can you sit up?'

'Yeah, sure.' I mumbled, struggling to pull myself into an upright position. 'What time is it?'

He checked his watch. 'Half one, why?'

I shrugged, and then winced. 'Ouch. No reason.'

'You seem a little… grumpy today, Edward. Are you alright?'

I was about to snap an answer at him, when just for a moment I was back in time. I was five years old, an only child, and staring up at my real father. Not the horrible man who had married my mother when I was twelve, and not Carlisle, but the man who had looked after me. The man who had kept my family whole. I was staring up at him with tears in my eyes, and clutching my wrist close to me. I whimpered: 'It hurts.'

Then, back in the present, just like so many years ago, I stared up at my current father figure and whispered, in a voice aching with a deeper, emotional pain, 'It hurts.'

Carlisle's expression softened. 'Oh, Edward.'

I looked down at my lap, embarrassed. I wasn't five any more, I was fifteen. I didn't have to go crying to anyone. I could deal with a little bit of pain.

'Edward, you can tell Esme and I anything, you know.' He paused. 'We are going to be adopting you, you and Alice and Emmett.'

I sniffed, trying to stop the tears pooling in my eyes. I stared at him. He thought my future was magically going to work itself out. Yeah right. I'd have to catch up on schoolwork, graduate, finish college, and heal from my injuries. I'd always suffer underlying health conditions, and emotional harm. I'd always be a social freak too, the boy who was abused. My life would never be a happy one. My stepfather had made sure of that. I looked at Carlisle, and letting a tear run down my cheek I whispered, 'I want to die.'

The look of shock and pain on his face made me regret my words immediately. He probably thought I meant that I would rather die then be adopted by him, which wasn't true. 'Edward…' he whispered softly.

'I didn't mean- I didn't – Honestly, I meant to say-' I stammered, trying to cover up my mistake. This was a man who had dropped everything, him and his wife, to help three children they didn't know.

'Edward.' He cut me off. 'I know you're upset, and I know you're in pain, and watching you suffer pains me, but sometimes you have to keep fighting. Everyone goes through low points in their lives; I've had a few in mine. But no matter what, you can't give up.'

'What kind of low points?' I muttered suspiciously, sounding like a six year old being convinced that it didn't matter his share of the cake had fallen on the floor.

He looked away then, his eyes distant. 'Like when Esme lost my son.'

'What do you mean?' I blurted out.

'She was seven months pregnant. Everything was going well, but she was admitted into hospital. There was a complication and she lost the baby- he was born dead.'

'I'm so sorry.' I whispered. 'I didn't know.'

'Of course not,' Carlisle said, smiling again, a sadder smile then before. 'Very few people are told.'

I bit my lip, and he looked at me. 'You see, Edward, I've already lost my only birth son, so when Esme and I plan to adopt children- we already consider you our children- we were so happy to find a group of kids who had gone through something so terrible, yet were still willing to trust and forgive and be happy and _move on_. Then when one of you tells me you want to die…'

'I'm sorry.'

'Yes, I am too. It just brings back memories, of burying a dead child, and Esme and I, we wanted to die then. Especially when Esme was told that the miscarriage had affected her ability to conceive more children…'

The look of pain on Carlisle face was so intense, that I flinched myself. 'Anyway,' Carlisle said. 'Some things are better left buried in the past, eh?'

I nodded, and whispered in a tiny voice. 'Yes.'

Carlisle smiled and moved further away from my bed, then, making me jump, his cellphone rang. 'Sorry, Edward,' he said, checking the display. 'It's Esme.'

He took the phone call, and, after a few seconds, his face lit up. It shone with such pure joy that I shied away. 'That's brilliant,' he said happily. 'Okay, love you too, Esme. Bye.'

I blinked and looked at him cautiously. 'What?'

'The last of the checks- the home checks- has been completed. We've been approved to adopt.'

'So…?'

'As soon as Esme and I sign the last bits of paperwork, you officially become our son.' He paused, beaming. 'And Alice will become our baby daughter, and Emmett our younger son.' His smile was so joyful, it was almost scary. Then his pager went off. 'Ah, sorry, my break is over. I'm need in OR seven. Goodbye.'

'Bye.' I muttered as he practically danced out of the door. Then I slumped back on the cushions. 'Where was I?' I mumbled to myself. 'Ah, yes.' _One hundred and five… One hundred and six… One hundred and seven…_

**Ta da!!!! Anyway, please review if you like the story. :) Reviews are like… my life force. **

**:) **


	8. The Light's There But I Can't See It

**Okay, so this is day of House Inspection, takes place maybe two hours after last chapter so that makes it three thirty p.m. :) **

**When it changes to Esme's point of view, it skips to when she's at the hospital, about to enter Edwards Room, okay? It'll remind you at the POV change.**

**I think I've messed up the birthdays, so this is Edward's birthday in the story: April the third.**

**I looked it up in a calendar, and May the eighth would have a Friday, not a Saturday, but let's just pretend it was a Saturday. Anyway, this is Thursday the 13 in the story. : ) **

EPOV

Carlisle and two trainee nurses, one male, stood about a metre away from the foot of my bed. They were discussing something that was probably important, but I wasn't paying attention. The male nurse was paged, and left, and the female nurse picked up a clipboard. She handed it to Carlisle before looking at me. She mumbled something I couldn't make out, and then after listening to Carlisle reply left the room.

Carlisle read whatever the clipboard said, and then moved closer to me. 'You remember those tests you had this morning?' Carlisle asked, each word carefully articulated.

'Yeah.' I mumbled. MRI's or CATscans or whatever they were. I'd had maybe ten tests done early this morning, and some yesterday, and they had just got the results for the last ones back now.

'Well, see here. The lung and clotting that you were so worried about- nothing wrong with it. _But_ one of the shattered ribs that was half-healed re-shattered when your younger brother slammed into you. Reconstructive surgery was successful,' he held up an x-ray like picture and traced one of the line with his finger. 'Look here, the rib fragments have been removed from where they could cause damage to organs and tissue.'

'So…?'

'All in all, because you probably don't want the whole medical explanation, in layman's term, you'll be in bed for the next four to six weeks, with regular checkups. It's most likely that after that you'll be in a wheelchair for another two or three weeks, possibly up to two months. You definitely won't start back at school until after the summer holidays, but with catch up issues it could be as far away as October or November.'

Six weeks in bed and two months in a wheelchair? Ugh. 'When will I be out of hospital?' I pressed.

'Within four days.' Carlisle said, smiling. 'In two days time Esme and I will finish signing the adoption papers. In three days we'll collect Alice and Emmett, and either then or the next day the patient transfer service will send you to our home.'

I smiled weakly in return. It wasn't that I didn't want to be adopted- it just felt awkward. For Alice it would be easy- she'd soon forget she had any parents other then Esme and Carlisle. Emmett was too young to really understand that adoptive parents were different to birth parents.

Carlisle dropped the clipboard to his side, and looked at me, genuine concern in his eyes. 'Do you need to talk about anything?' he asked.

'No, I'm okay.' I said.

'Are you sure?' he bit his lip and looked as if he wanted to add something, but he didn't.

'I'm sure.'

'You don't have to talk to me, the hospital has a therapist. Well, four, actually…'

'No.' I said firmly. 'I don't want to talk.'

Carlisle nodded and walked over to the door. 'It you're sure, Edward.' He went to leave, but turned. 'Esme's coming in soon. She wants to talk to you, Edward.'

'Esme?' I said, bewildered.

'Yes.' Carlisle said. 'Esme. She just wants to get to know you.'

I nodded carefully- sudden movements still hurt sometimes. 'Alright then,' I agreed.

'Mmkay.' Carlisle said. 'So just remember- four to six weeks in bed.' Then his pager went off and he hurried off to some other section of the hospital. I slumped back against the pillows.

EsmePOV (Just outside Edward's hospital room, about four p.m).

Thanking the young nurse who had taken me up to the ward, I knocked gently on door to Edward's room. 'Hello?' I called out.

'He's in there.' The nurse assured me. 'He was awake half an hour ago, when Dr Cullen and Nurse Branberry and the male nurse who's name escapes me, went up to go over his test results with him.'

'Thanks.' I mumbled, pushing the door open. The small room was barely furnished- tatty yellow curtains hung over his head, and the window only displayed a brick wall. The sheets, chair, floor, ceiling and walls were white, as well as the small table to my left as I entered the room. Scattered across the table were files and small piles of paperwork.

Edward didn't look awake to me, his eyes were shut and he was breathing gently. Apart from the yellow curtains, the only colour was his hair. His skin was really pale, and he wore a hospital gown. I winced, before, as his eyes flickered open, rearranging my expression to show a smile.

'Hello, Edward.' I greeted him. 'My name is Esme, do you remember me?'

'Yes,' he said. 'Of course I remember you. You're adopting Elsie and Emmie.'

'And you,' I added softly.

'Yes.' He consented. 'And me.'

I dragged the small white chair from beside the table to Edward's bedside, and sat down. 'Anything you want to discuss?' I asked, I didn't have many things to say to a hospitalized teenage boy.

'Your husband already asked me that,' he said, his mood changing from bored and slightly cautious to sulky in an instant. 'I don't need to talk to a therapist.'

'Oh no,' I said, that honestly wasn't what I meant. 'I meant for conversation topics. Like, sports, for example.' I regretted that once I'd said it. It was probably considered more then a little cruel to ask a temporarily bedridden child about sports.

'I haven't played sports in a while.' Edward said, a definitely wistful touch to his tone. 'I used to love playing football with my mates, or when I was younger just hopskotcherhoop.'

'Hopskotcherhoop?' I echoed, confused.

'Yes, a mix between hopscotch, "cher," which was my friend's name for tag, and hoola hooping. I used to play it in kindergarten and first grade with Beth and James, my best friends at the time.'

I smiled. 'And do you miss first grade, Edward?'

'Yeah.' He said.

'Why?'

'Because everything was so simple then. I was six years old; my birthmother was pregnant with my first sibling, Emmett, although at first she thought she was having a girl! Anyway, I had nothing to worry about; my biggest concern was whether I'd have to make new friends, or if Beth and James would play with me.' He paused, still unable to for a long time, but he pressed on. 'My birthfather was alive, and my mother thought drugs were horrible, had never ever smoked anything in her life, and drank less then half a glass of alcohol a day. I was happy.'

I paused, unsure what to say. What could I say? Aware of my discomfort, Edward decided to talk of something else. 'Do you or Carlisle have any siblings?' he asked.

'I do, my sister, Sarah. She lives in New York. Her husband, John, runs a catering company and she is a journalist. Carlisle is an only child.'

He nodded. 'Neither of you have any experience with adoption?'

'No.' I admitted. 'It'll be a learning experience for the both of us.'

'Both meaning you and Carlisle, or you and me?'

'Let me rephrase that- It'll be a learning experience for all three of us.'

Edward smiled wearily; it was clear that he needed rest and was not used to conversations dragging on longer then a few lines. Still, he was making an effort, and that was what really counted.

'So who are you're current best friends?' I asked.

Edward stared at me for a moment, surprised. 'I don't have any. I used to have three best friends and about five other close friends, but then one best friends moved away, the other started hanging out with the in crowd, and then al this started, and I was in a hospital, then a children's home… there was no one there to be friends with- the oldest kids were two years younger then me.'

I nodded, hoping to look understanding. Inside I was reeling. It made sense of course, but he was such a nice kid. I expected him to have heaps of friends. It was really sad. We chatted on a bit, but while we weren't running out of topics, Edward was getting more and more tired. I checked my watch. I'd been there about twenty five minutes, and I was sensing it was time to leave.

'I've got to go now, but it was nice talking to you.' I said, standing up.

'Yes.' He agreed softly. 'It was.'

I smiled, and leaving the small white chair by his bedside I strode out.

**Short chapter, I know. I'm thinking of bringing Angela into this story, NOT ExA, but just as a friend. What do you think? Please review. **


End file.
